Washing apparatus



July 28, 1959 G. R. TOMPKINS WASHING APPARATUS Original Filed Oct. 28. 1955 30 X; INVENTOR. Qzayzlrazl/Wliw United States Patent WASHING APPARATUS George Russell Tompkins, Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Substituted forabandoned application Seria'l'N 0. 543,455, October 28, 1955. This application October 22, 1956, Serial No. 617,596 I Claims. (Cl. 239- 185) This invention relates to washing apparatus,.and more particularly to an apparatus for use in washing vehicles, .being a substitute for my application Serial No. 543,455, filed October 28, 1955, now abandoned.

The object of the invention is to provide a washing apparatus which includes a movable carriage that is adapted to travel around a trackway due to the pressure of the water so that all of the various surfaces of the vehicle can be thoroughly and effectively washed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a water powered vehicle washing apparatus wherein a carriage revolves or travels around the vehicle to spray water under pressure to all of the various surfaces of the vehicle so that the dirt or other foreign matter will be readily removed 'from thevehicle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vehicle washing apparatus-which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be'apparent during the course of the .following description. V

'In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application,-'and.in .which like numeralsare used todesignate like :parts throughout the same:

Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating the vehicle washing apparatus of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the carriage, with parts broken away and in section,

Fig. 3 is a view taken at right angles to the view shown in Fig. 2, and with parts broken away and in section, and

Fig. 4 is a plan view illustrating the bracket and rollers.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral designates a track which is continuous as shown in Fig. 1, and the track 10 may be U-shaped in cross section as shown in Fig. 3, so that the track can include upper and lower flanges or walls 11 and 12, and a vertically disposed web or wall 14. Movably mounted on the track 10 is a carriage 13 which includes a plate 15 that is positioned below the track 10. Secured below the plate 15 in any suitable manner, as for example by welding, is a hollow casing 16 which 'has a rotatable turbine wheel 17 rotatably mounted therein. The turbine wheel 17 is provided with a plurality of impeller blades or vanes 18, Fig. 2.

A shaft 19 has its lower end connected to the turbine wheel 17, and a roller 20 which may be made of yieldable material such as rubber is mounted on the upper portion of the shaft 19. A support member 21 has its lower end secured to the plate 15, while the upper end of the support member 21 engages the top of the shaft 19. A guide wheel or roller 22 is journaled on the end of the support member 21, and the guide wheel 22 engages the top flange 11, Fig. 3.

There is further provided a bracket which is indicated generally by the numeral 23, and the bracket 23 includes a vertically disposed portion 24 which may be secured to the plate 15. The bracket 23 further includes a horizontally disposed portion 25 which is provided with a pair of slots 26, Fig. 4. A cross piece 27 includes an intermediate ofiset portion 28, and a coil spring 29 has one end connected to the oifset portion 28, while the other end of the coil spring 29 is connected to the bracket 23. Shaft members 30 are movably mounted in the slots 26, and rollers or wheels 31 are mounted on the shaft members 30-and engage the inner surface of the web 14.

There is further provided a conduit 32 which is adapted to be connected to a suitable source of water under pressure, and the conduit 32 has its inner or lower end 33 arranged contiguous to the blades 13 of the turbine wheel ,17. A conduit 34 leads from the conduit 32 to the vertical portion 35 of an L,-shaped tube .36, and the tube 36 also includes a horizontal portion 37. A plurality of spray nozzles 38 may be secured to the tube 36 for the egress therethrough of water onto the vehicle, and a manually operable valve 39 may be'interposed in the conduit 34. Clamps or brackets 49 may be provided for securing the tube 36 to the plate 15. A conduit 41 leads from the casing 16 to the horizontal portion 37 of the tube 36.

.From vthe foregoing, it is apparent that there has been provided an apparatus which is especially suitable for use in washing vehicles such as automobiles. In use,

.passes through .the conduit 32, .it impinges against the blades 18 of the turbine wheel 17 to thereby rotate the wheel .17. .As the wheel rotates, the shaft 19 rotates and thisinturn rotates the roller 20* and since the roller 20 bears against the web 14, the carriage 13 which includes the .plate 15 .will travel all around the track 10. The 'water willthen leave the casing 16 and pass out through theconduit 41 and enter the horizontal portion 37 of the tube 36. Also, some water will pass through the conduit 34. into the vertical portion 35 of the tube 36 and this water .will issue out the spray nozzles 38 onto the automobile to thereby cleantheautorn-obile. Thus, the. auto mobile will be sprayed with water from a moving member so that all surfaces of the vehicle will be cleaned. The rollers 31 are urged against the inner surface of the web 14 by means of the spring 29 so that the rollers 31 coact with the roller 20 to insure that the carirage will travel around the trackway. The valve 39 can be manually controlled as desired.

The carriage revolves around the vehicle and travels on the track 10. The track 10 may have an oblong or rectangular shape and the plate 15 supports the L-shaped pipe or tube 36 which sprays or rinses one portion of the car at a time to thereby allow the operator to be free to sweep the interior of the car from the opposite side. If desired, an electric motor can be used to propel the device. The tube 32 may have a swivel connection connected thereto so that the hose can follow the carriage around the track. As the roller 20 rotates, the carriage moves since the roller 20 is held in contact with the track by the spring loaded rollers 31. The water issuing out through the spray heads 38 is under lower pressure than the water supply because some of the pressure is lost in the motor. The valve 39 controls the passage of water and also regulates the speed of the water motor. With the present invention the number of personnel required to wash a car is greatly reduced and also the cost of the device is extremely small. The spring 29 provides suflicient give so that the device can go around corners of the track. The guide roller 22 helps keep the carriage in its proper position.

I claim:

1. A vehicle washing apparatus comprising a closed track having a horizontally disposed flange and a vertically disposed flange, a carriage movably mounted on said track and adapted to be power driven and including a horizontally disposed support member, a casing secured to the lower surface of said support member, a turbine wheel rotatably mounted in said casing and including a plurality of blades, means for rotating said turbine wheel, a vertically disposed shaft extending upwardly from said casing and projecting through said support member, a roller mounted on said shaft and having driving engagement with the outer surface of said vertically disposed flange, a second support member secured to said first support and to the top of said shaft, a guide wheel journaled on said second support member and engaging said horizontally disposed flange, a bracket secured to said first support member and extending upwardly, shaft members on said bracket and having rollers mounted thereon engaging the inner surface of said Vertical flange, and a generally L-shaped fluid discharge means mounted below said first support member and carried thereby.

2. A vehicle washing apparatus as defined in claim 1, said bracket having a pair of slots, said shaft members extending through said slots and supported and guided therein, and spring means acting upon said shaft members to urge said rollers and shaft and shaft members toward said vertical flange.

3. A vehicle washing apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said spring means takes the form of a cross piece extending between said shaft members and secured thereto, said cross piece including an intermediate offset portion and a coil spring having one end connected to said ofifset portion and its other end connected to said bracket.

4. In a vehicle washing apparatus, a closed track U-shaped in cross section and including upper and lower horizontally disposed flanges and a vertically disposed web, a carriage movably mounted on said track and including a horizontally disposed plate, a casing secured to the lower surface of said plate, a turbine wheel rotatably mounted in said casing and including a plurality of blades, a vertically disposed shaft extending upwardly from said casing and projecting through said plate, a roller mounted on said shaft and frictionailly engaging the outer surface of said web, a support member secured to said plate and to the top of said shaft, a guide wheel journaled on said support member and engaging the uppermost flange, a

4 bracket secured to said plate and extending upwardly therefrom and said bracket including a vertically disposed section and a horizontally disposed section, there being a pair of slots in said horizontally disposed section of said bracket, shaft members extending through said slots and having rollers mounted thereon engaging the inner surface of said web, an L-shaped fluid discharge tube mounted below said plate, a plurality of spray nozzles connected to said tube, a cross piece extending between said shaft members and secured thereto, said cross piece including an intermediate offset portion, a coil spring having one end connected to the offset portion of said cross piece and its other end connected to said bracket, a first conduit adapted to be connected to a source of supply of water having its lower end arranged contiguous to the blades of said turbine wheel, said tube including a horizontally disposed portion and a vertically disposed portion, a second conduit leading from said tube, and a third conduit leading from said casing to the horizontal portion of said tube.

5. A vehicle washing apparatus for washing the top and side surfaces of the vehicle comprising a spray head mechanism having a generally L-shaped arrangement of spray nozzles and adapted to extend above and partly across the vehicle being washed and along the side thereof, an endless generally rectangular track corresponding generally to the length and width of the vehicle to be washed and adapted to be supported above the vehicle, carriage support means for said head mechanism movably mounted on said track, drive means in operative driving connection with said support means for moving said support means about said track and hence said head around the vehicle to be washed, said head mechanism depending below said track from said support means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,249,211 Johnson July 15, 1941 2,626,417 Truran Jan. 27, 1953 2,648,342 Vani Aug. 11, 1953 2,661,241 Veneziano Dec. 1, 1953 

